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Nonprofit Overview

Mission: Our Mission:
To heal the sick and injured/orphaned animals brought to us and ready them for release back into our Urban Wilds.
To educate people of all ages in the wonder and enjoyment of wildlife and nature and why it is so vital we protect it.
To teach patience and compassion so that urban wildlife is viewed in a more positive light by everyone- not as pests, but as important co-habitators of our environment.
When an injured or orphaned wildlife mammal is found, we nurse these animals back to a healthy state where they are able to be released back into the wild. Through education to children and adults alike, we try to raise awareness of these wild residents of our cities in the hope that a better co-habitation will lead to less injuries/orphans and more enjoyment of the urban wildlife with which we share our cities.

Community Stories

36 Stories from Volunteers, Donors & Supporters

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My boyfriend and I recently moved into a great renovated apartment with lots of outdoor space behind a large house in South Berkeley. Some of our neighbors in the front house alerted the landlord about a few rats they saw on the property. The landlord is a contractor who works with my boyfriend often (he owns a custom painting company), so he asked him to set a rat trap with some peanut butter. Sadly, later in the day after setting the trap, he realized that a baby possum ate some of the peanut butter and got his hand caught in the trap up to the wrist. My boyfriend released the possum from the trap but saw that his hand was limp and oozing. The possum didn't move and my boyfriend brought him water. I heard about this while at work so my manager and I looked up some emergency animal rescues and saw that Yggdrasil was available in the Berkeley area. I gave the number to my boyfriend, he texted Yggdrasil (they instructed to text vs. call) and he heard back within 5 minutes. They assigned someone near our area to pick up the possum. A nice man came within an hour and had a box with a blanket ready for the possum. He made us feel better by saying he was delivering the possum to good hands and that possums are sturdy, resilient animals. I wrote a review for Yggdrasil on Facebook recently mentioning the possum we called about and Lila Talcott Travis got back to me with some great photos and update on our possum! Looks like things turned out great for him! I am so happy Yggdrasil does such an amazing job with wildlife that are so often abused or overlooked when injured. Please fund this nonprofit... they work from the heart.

wonderful wonderful group, full service care for our local wild orphaned sick injured and elderly mammals and so much more!!! as a animal control officer I could not expect better assistance from any other wildlife group around ! thank you Yggdrasil , you are my hero!

YUWR has been a tremendous help to threatened wildlife in Oakland and surrounding areas. If not for this center, thousands of urban wild mammals would have not had a chance in the world. I have always felt that if humanity is going to encroach upon wild habitats, then society has a moral obligation to take responsibility for damage done. YUWR and its tireless director, Lila Talcott Travis, was the only shelter that stepped into the large void in Oakland and we need to support them so the good work continues in the future. Without YUWR, there is literally no hope for wildlife in this area.

Yggdrasil, with Lila Travis at the helm, provides a great service to the community, both for people and for the wildlife sharing the urban environment. If you have discovered any problem with wildlife in the city, Yggdrasil is the place to call.

Volunteering at Yggdrasil has been an amazing experience. Through them, I’ve had experiences that no other wildlife rescue organization has provided- raising baby squirrels and then releasing them into the wild, going on rescue calls (like a baby fox that was found in an elementary school parking lot), socializing with an educational opossum, and being involved in post-mortem diagnostics, to name just a few things. Lila, the director, is an amazing woman with an incredible wealth of knowledge about everything wildlife- physiology, behavior, medical care, how to keep wild animals out of your attic/basement/kitchen… every question I’ve ever asked her has been met with a thorough answer. Even when I’ve bombarded her with question after question her patience never wavers! In all the wildlife volunteering I’ve ever done in my life (and it’s been a lot), she has what few wildlife rehabbers tend to possess… people skills. She even helped my friend in Oregon who was concerned about a wild squirrel with mange frequenting her apartment dumpster.

The other volunteers I’ve met through YUWR are also incredible… not only do you have the opportunity to do lots of hands-on procedures and learn a ton about our wildlife neighbors, the people involved with this organization are top-notch as well.

YGGDRASIL Urban Wildlife Rescue helps rehabilitate and release animals injured or caught in an urban environment. It is a crucial program for any urban area. The volunteers involved with the rescue have hearts of gold and I am happy to have helped YGGDRASIL in the past.

besides getting to develope a lost and natural sence of connectedness to the natural world, and being part of a community of great people. I felt a sence of fullilment to be of service to our wild creature friends and commrads, for everything we have, from our basic necessities to our riches, come from the natural world and we must praise anyone who will stuart our woods creatures. volunteering at YUWR brought back the joys of being close to our great wild life friends accompanying us in our urban and sometimes alienating habitat.

Yggdrasil provides support and sanctuary for the myriad of wildlife that lives among us. Their work is tireless and devoted. Countless small and large animals have been nutured back to health so that they can be re-introduced into their natural habitat which we share. Yggdrasil is on on the front lines with wildlife rehabilitation.

I am a second-year veterinary student, hoping to get into wildlife medicine and/or shelter medicine. When I first started as a wildlife rehab intern with YUWR, I had no clear goal in life. I was starting college again after dropping out a couple of years earlier. I knew I liked animals, and that was it. Working at YUWR helped me see how happy I was treating wildlife, how rewarding it was for me and for the animals alike. Moreover, Lila was a patient and knowledgeable teacher and caretaker for us all. I learned about wildlife in urban, suburban, rural, and even clinical settings. It was a great period of my life and 5 years later, I'm still very appreciative for a fun and educational experience they gave me.

I began working with Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue last spring after attending a training to foster orphaned squirrels. It was truly an amazing experience caring for the squirrels from bottle feeding, to building an outdoor play area, to setting them free. They still come by often to say hello and get some nuts we have left out for them. We look forward to a repeat of the experience this spring.

I am pleased to know and be involved with the Yggdrasil Rescue. The dedication from Lila, Megan and the volunteers to save wildlife is amazing. It takes an enormous amount of time and effort to nurse these beautiful creatures back to health so they can be released to their natural habitat. Not only do they care for the injured, sick and orphaned wildlife, they also educate the public on how to co habitate with wildlife. This organization is extremely important in saving wildlife as well as nature.

YUWR does great work saving the lives of wildlife among us. Many people are probably unaware of the fact that although we live in a highly urbanized area we nevertheless share this with all kinds of wildlife. YUWR helps save the lives of this wildlife. I consider their work to be humane to the utmost in our environment.

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I've been a volunteer at the Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue charity for over four years It has been an educational and rewarding experience for me. I highly recommend that others volunteer or donate to the organization.

This organization is really doing good work. They are all volunteer-run and operate on a shoestring budget and actually DO what they say they are doing. I hope they get the support they need and deserve.

YUWR is a grassroots, down to earth, group of dedicated volunteers who believe that all living creatures deserve a second chance. Through wildlife rehabilitation and education, we try to make the world a better place, one animal and one human at a time.

Lila has a way with urban wildlife that is a rare gift and underrated. I have watched her coax into her arm a newly found injured, scared and angry squirrel, who willingly hid inside her shirt for comfort . This organization is the *real deal*: it saves countless orphan urban wildlife, educates the public in how to coexist with urban wildlife and provides assistance at no charge when needed. Unlike other non-profits that spend hundreds or thousands of dollars in marketing, YGGDRASIL works quietly under the radar doing truly remarkable work. Because of this organization, our society is more humane and compassionate towards those that have no voice.

Previous Stories

Lila has a way with urban wildlife that is a rare gift and underrated. I have watched her coax into her arm a newly found injured, scared and angry squirrel, who willingly hid inside her shirt for comfort . This organization is the *real deal*: it saves countless orphan urban wildlife, educates the public in how to coexist with urban wildlife and provides assistance at no charge when needed. Unlike other non-profits that spend hundreds or thousands of dollars in marketing, YGGDRASIL works quietly under the radar doing truly remarkable work. Because of this organization, our society is more humane and compassionate towards those that have no voice.

To the Landlord;
Do you seriously think these folks do not wish to be RID of you as much as you, (yes we get it) wish to be rid of them? The issues you bring up here are nothing short of a child's temper tantrum and have nothing what-so-ever to do with whether or not the group is doing good work, which is the point of this forum. And which they NO QUESTION, are!!
I am familiar with the location and can assure you the 30k Retaining Wall was not solely because of the Center. It also does nothing but add to the value of your property and is a tax deduction for you as a homeowner, certainly not a LOSS to you in any way. While your generosity and selfless act of low rent has without doubt benefitted the Center, it tends to take a back seat to your relentless pursuit to now leave all of them homeless.
Personally it sounds like a terrible place to house a disabled, elderly person, being that it is located on that Hillside you spent so much money on. It is certainly YOUR right to take back your house, but you have NO right to whine about it here. I happen to know they are doing everything in their power to relocate.
I'm sorry for the loss of your husband and that you are left to raise your children alone, but again......the Center is raising 100's of Orphan children, all created by the same God, and all in desperate need of help. Why can't you be satisfied with having ultimate power and knowing you'll get your way, soon enough.....and stop making daily life more painful for those struggling to find a new home.
To Lila et all, Prayers and continued HOPE that somehow, someway....you're allowed to carry on the invaluable work you all do!
GOD BLESS THE BEASTS AND THE CHILDREN!

I am the landlord at this property. I had to put in a $30k retaining wall last year to stop errosion from vegetation being torn out and cages being put in their place. These tenants lease was up in May of 2010 and they are behind in (fair rent there is about $3000) rent payments despite the fact that they have (self declared) raised tens of thousands of dollars on line. And the rent board approved my fair rent increase. My mortgage there is $2800 and I have rented this house to the Travis' for 6 years at a large financial loss (initially at $1000 and later $1520 per month) which has been completely unappreciated by the tenants. I had an interested buyer for this property -- who was refused access to see the house -- and I lost the sale. This caused a financial burdeon on my family. I have a handicapped mother who needs a place to live and I am being denied access to my home. I am a single mom with three children. Their father, and my former husband is deceased. There was never an agreement to have any lease time beyond May 2010. Its now a huge burdeon for me and unfair, this now going beyond the agreed upon lease. There is no lease agreement beyond May 2010.

I found YUWR via the Internet after finding an orphaned baby squirrel on a Sunday evening. I took the baby to Lila that night and was so impressed with her caring demeaner and vast knowledge. Soon after our first meeting, I took her class on fostering baby squirrels and became a volunteer that same day. I continue to be impressed by Lila. She LITERALLY is available all hours of the day or night and always makes me feel appreciated for what I do to help.

I first met Lila Travis at the Yggdrasil Urban WIldlife Rescue when I found an orphaned baby skunk along with his dead sibling on an off-ramp of Hwy 13. When I brought the skunk to their facillty I saw the great work they were doing and seeing the need for volunteers, I immediately signed up. I'm so grateful for the experience of helping to raise these small orphaned babies - squirrels, raccoons, fawns, etc. I am also completely impressed with the work that is done by the staff and on-site volunteers at YUWR. The dedication, compassion and hard work that comes from their director, Lila is amazing beyond compare. YUWR was started by her because there was no other a facility of it's kind in Oakland. Since the city of Oakland is full of wildlife and so close to many acres of wilderness I am surprised that a facility like this hasn't been around for many, many years. I often wonder what kind of help the wildlife has had in years past. A very grim thought indeed. There is definitely a need for YUWR to exist in this city and they truly deserve the much needed funding and support.